Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2253 Compromise
For the big gentry, the most important thing is the land. With the land, there is wealth and status.However, if there are not enough tenants and long-term workers to cultivate, it will not be transformed into wealth and power.And manpower is not only a source of wealth, but also a guarantee of safety: especially in Yangshan, a county where the law and order are chaotic, where the law of the jungle is the norm, neither individuals nor large households can count on the protection of the legal regime. Armed forces can guarantee their own interests.

In this way, manpower has become the basis for the livelihood of major households.Ouyang's family is no exception.For Ouyang Xi, collecting food and taxes is a perfunctory task, but this strong man is the lifeblood of his family.It's no wonder that he quickly declined as soon as he heard the word "borrowing soldiers".

However, this is not the main reason for his resignation.In fact, Ouyang Xi still has doubts about whether this new "Great Song Dynasty" can gain a foothold in Yangshan.

Whether it's bandit suppression or Zhenyao, Ouyang Xi and the county have the same opinion.However, as the leader of the big gentry in this county, he is well aware of his role as a benchmark. As long as he agrees to "borrow troops", other big families will naturally regard him as submitting to the "Great Song Dynasty", and many people will follow the wind to Australia Man, in case the lost land is regained tomorrow - it is a matter of fame and the future of the family, and he cannot easily make up his mind!

However, when he refused, he really couldn't say it, because his family in Yangshan had always had a reputation of "urgent publicity and righteousness"-now the situation in Yangshan County, if he didn't stand up, he really couldn't tell it.

"Mr. Yangshan is also aware of the current situation. Although Sun Dabiao and Feng Haijiao are eliminated, the banditry is not calm, and everyone in the county is in danger. Besides, although the rebellion in Ba Pai Yao is peaceful, it is still a hidden danger—— sir The first household in Yangshan, how can you sit idly by and ignore such important matters related to Sangzi?"

"Non-students sit idly by and don't ask, but the strong men in the student's village are all stupid people, and they have a bit of blood in defending their village. If they are asked to fight, I'm afraid it will be a waste of money..." Ouyang Xi continued to decline.

"The student also served as a county magistrate in Yangshan for several years. At the beginning, the elder brother Ouyang Da led the Xiangyong to fight against the bandits several times. He personally served as Shishi, and he was actually the general of Yangshan. The Xiangyong under his command even gave up his life. Are you stupid people?" Peng Shouan didn't allow him to dodge, and exposed his evasion to his face.

Ouyang Xi showed embarrassment - he forgot that the other party was the county magistrate not long ago.

Peng Shouan solemnly said: "Mr. Yu Daming, a student, is a three-year-term official; Yu Yuanyuan is just a 'consultant' outside the order. The stability of Yangshan and the well-being of the people, what do I have to do with it? Borrowing troops here is for the sake of peace for the people of Yangshan! Please think twice, sir!"

This vaguely meant to blame Ouyang Xi for only caring about Xiao family and ignoring everyone.It made him somewhat embarrassed, and it did shake the old man a little bit.

Ouyang's family is not hypocritical about Yangshan's "urgency and kindness", otherwise he would not be in charge of repairing the reading platform, let alone organize Xiangyong to fight for the county many times.Historically, in Yangshan County, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, bandits invaded and Yao people rioted one after another. Ouyang’s family dispatched village warriors to fight every time. Ouyang Xi’s son Ouyang Da died in a battle against bandits in the early Qing. .

Ouyang Xi pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice: "It's not that I don't want to borrow troops, it's because it's a big deal. Master Peng! You and I have known each other for many years, and we trust each other. Even if you are now an Australian official, I won't see you." Foreigner: It is said that Feng Haijiao and others have been awarded by the Ming court, if I openly fight against them, wouldn't I be going to beat the officers and soldiers?"

When Peng Shouan saw that he spoke his mind, he knew that things would be easy, so he said, "Who Sun Dabiao and Feng Haijiao are, I think the old man knows very well. Such people can also be officials, it's really Wa Ke Lei Ming!" He saw Ouyang Xi was still hesitating, so he whispered again, "This time the county magistrate wants me to borrow troops, not send troops."

Ouyang Xi was startled, and said, "How do you say that?"

"Magistrate Pi said that you are always the number one gentry in Yangshan, and the uncle is also a juren. There must be many taboos in cooperating with the county, and there must be many shirks——she doesn't blame you for this."

"Thank you, Master Pi, for your understanding!" Ouyang Xi said hurriedly.

"You're welcome." Peng Shouan continued, "Now the county magistrate has said that you don't need to send troops to help the suppression in the name of Ouyang's hometown brave, as long as your family sends fifty strong men-weapons, food and wages are all prepared by the county. , and don't want the Ouyang family to lead them—is it possible to make it clear like this?"

This can be regarded as making the point clear, and Ouyang Xi felt that if he didn't shirk any more, he meant to toast instead of eating fine wine.

He glanced at Peng Shouan, feeling a little puzzled.He didn't believe that a woman could come up with such an idea, it was probably Peng Shouan's idea.However, Peng did not make any achievements in politics in Yangshan, and suffered a big defeat when he assisted the Australian county magistrate Wang. On the contrary, this female magistrate came and only took one move, but she lived a full game in an instant.Ouyang Xi couldn't help but have some doubts: Is there any expert in the county who is secretly pointing out?

But this method is quite appropriate, although his family has a strong man, after all, he is not under the leadership of the Ouyang family, and the Ming government has room to shirk when he comes back. If he does not come back, his family has made a contribution to the Senate.

"Let me discuss this matter with my son." Ouyang Xi said, "I will reply to you tomorrow."

"What? He agreed?" Pida asked.

"Even if you missed the target, it's not far away." Peng Shouan was quite complacent.

Pi Da frowned, and You Ciren said: "Old Peng, don't drag your words, speak human terms!"

"Yes, yes," Peng Shouan was in a good mood and didn't care about it, "Master Ouyang said he would discuss it with his son and reply tomorrow—this is just for the sake of caution. The matter has been decided."

"So, he has already agreed?" Pi Da said.

"Exactly," Peng Shouan nodded, "Speaking of which, it's your idea, the county magistrate..."

In their original plan, the big households from all over the country were to send out the township braves to help in the battle. Firstly, to save money, and secondly, the township brave's combat power was largely based on "knowing each other from top to bottom".

But Peng Shouan visited a few big households, and although each one was very polite and "reasonable burden" was easy to say, when it came to borrowing Xiangyong, they all faltered and hawed.After hitting a wall, Pi Da asked Peng Shouan to change course: only a strong man, not a name.

"These rich people are only afraid that we are not 'orthodox'. I am afraid that one day the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will fight back, and others will use this as a fuss to say that they are 'attached to thieves'. If this is the case, we will rest their hearts... "

"In this case, wouldn't we be weak in momentum..." You Ciren was a little suspicious.

"Da Ming has ruled Yangshan for nearly 300 years, and the orthodox concept has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. We are new here. The big households have never seen us defeat the Ming army, but it is normal to have doubts." Pi Da said, "We want them now. They will naturally refuse to show their banner to help us."

So the plan was adjusted to what it is now: as long as each family produces strong men, they don't need to form an organizational system to pull teams out.

"...Actually, that's fine too. The township warriors they have brought out from the establishment are all led by their own people, and their combat effectiveness may not be bad, but we can't get in." You Ciren said, "When they come to us Those who are paid here and educated for a year and a half will be ours. Even if it is the number one gentry like Ouyang Xi, if his fifty strong men are given to us, they will not belong to his family in the future."

So this "recruitment of rural bravery" became "recruitment of Ding". For the big households, this nominal change made them feel relieved, especially Ouyang Xi's family was the first to accept "recruitment of Ding", and even more so. It played an exemplary role.Soon, Peng Shouan recruited [-] young men from the dozen or so "well-known" gentry and clan families listed above.The collection rate for reasonable burdens has also risen all the way, and soon reached more than [-]%.The Dasong Yangshan County Government, which was on the verge of death due to lack of soldiers and food, miraculously recovered.

Pi Da had some food in his hands, so he immediately organized the team.Some of the old and weak were weeded out from the recruited strong men, and more than 260 people were selected, and a hundred Yaoding from Yonghua were mixed with the original national army, and finally five squadrons were formed.Each squadron formed a rifle squad, and the rest of the soldiers used spears and knives.He also dug out all the armors in the county storehouse, picked out more than a dozen pairs of iron armors that could be used, and distributed the cotton cloth in the county storehouse, and distributed them to the women, who beat them firmly and waffled them into cotton armors.Form a full-armor squad for each squadron.

You Ciren organized the eliminated old and weak into a reserve squadron for the defense of the county.

Most of the strong men conscripted from the powerful families have been country warriors for many years. Although they have not received much formal training, they have some experience in fighting in battle, and their combat power is quite strong. .

Si Da officially appointed Luo Yiming as the mayor of Dalangxu, and arranged for two full-staffed squadrons to be stationed.Its main task is to defend Dalangxu and monitor Yonghua Yao District.Once something happened in Yonghua Yao district or nearby areas, Luo Yiming himself had a mobile force that could deal with it at any time without waiting for the county to deploy troops to him.It is equivalent to one more attack position.

The other squadrons took turns to escort Peng Shouan out to "visit", and collected reasonable burdens from village to village; squadrons without the task of "visiting" either guarded the county town, or patrolled along various roads in the county to clear up scattered bandits.

You Ciren dispatched in the middle, coordinated the patrol and clearance work of each squadron, ensured that the national army squadrons patrol the roads every day, and focused on ensuring the safety of traffic nodes and important market towns in the county.Due to the abundance of troops now, in addition to the reserve squadron, he has 1 or 2 squadrons on standby in the county at all times, ready to go at any time.

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Next update: Volume 458 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter [-]

(End of this chapter)